Orange Slices

We recently attended the North American Veterinary Conference — the world’s largest veterinary conference attended by more than 12,000 veterinarians, veterinary staff and exhibitors — to keep our finger on the pulse of this important group of influencers.

More and more, companion animals have moved from being simply pets to family members, with full family rights…including hogging most of the bed! Pets are big business. Even during the Great Recession, pet parents didn’t curtail spending on their pets to the percentage they did in other areas.

At the heart of the pet business is the veterinarian. Studies show that nearly half of all pet owners consider themselves “vet dependent.” That means they turn to veterinarians for information and advice on every aspect of their pet’s well-being — not just medical care, nutrition or other areas of pet health. They query veterinarians on bedding, toys, training…and the list goes on.

One important insight into the business of reaching pet owners is that the digital age has not weakened the veterinarians’ influence. Even though vast amounts of information are only a few mouse clicks away, pet owners consider the veterinarian the #1 source of information—far above the Internet or other sources. They may research online or talk to friends and family, but the veterinarian is the final say.

Regardless of the pet product or service, it’s important to recognize the influence of the veterinarian. While a very small part of the market is directly distributed through veterinarians, they hold the power to make or break a brand.

The New York Times’ recent article about manipulating Internet search engines was a fascinating glimpse into the world of search engine optimization. Most companies want their products and services ranking high in online searches, particularly a Google search. There is an ongoing cat-and-mouse game between the search engines (which do not disclose their specific ranking formulas) and the individuals\companies who make a living trying to move clients higher up the search rankings.

As The New York Times story points out, something had clearly gone very wrong (or very right, depending upon your point of view) when J.C. Penney popped up as a top site for items ranging from dresses, luggage, skinny jeans, tablecloths, comforter sets and furniture. Those results didn’t happen by accident; they were part of a deliberate and well-executed “black hat” strategy over many months to raise J.C. Penney’s rankings. Google executives called it the most ambitious attempt they had ever seen to game their system.

I’ll leave it to others to debate if the strategy was “ethical” or not. What I found most interesting was the denial by J.C. Penney that the company had engaged in any deliberate attempt to manipulate the search engines.

“J.C. Penney did not authorize and we were not involved with or aware of the posting of the links that you sent to us, as it is against our natural search policies,” said a spokesperson. I feel for the J.C. Penney public relations team. The search engine results did not happen accidentally. It took time, effort, resources and money to systematically create thousands of artificial links to the J.C. Penney website.

Evidently, the Internet marketing team at J.C. Penney did not consider it important to get the input of public relations professionals about the potential negative fall-out from engaging in this type of activity.  I am sure they were very proud of the results they achieved, right up to the day when The New York Times called Google to ask about this jury-rigging, resulting in a painfully long story in the Sunday Business section.

The bottom line is that actions have consequences, and public relations professionals provide the most value to organizations when they are in the loop BEFORE decisions are made and executed. Marketing and public relations are complimentary, but different, disciplines within the corporate structure. Neither should control the other, but they must be at the table at the same time so that all voices and perspectives can be evaluated and weighed.

When RLF Communications undertook the assignment to promote the International Civil Rights Center & Museum’s historic Feb. 1, 2010 opening, our objective was to capture national recognition for a civil rights landmark. We were extremely pleased with the campaign’s results and honored PRWeek has named it
one of the year’s top five promotional campaigns.

The list of PRWeekAward finalists represents some of the biggest and best public relations companies in the world (Fleishman-Hillard, Golin Harris, MS&L, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide) advocating causes both serious (bringing clean water to 1 billion people, celebrating the Boy Scouts of America’s 100th anniversary) and fun (Pop Tarts in Times Square and Christmas Caroling to Celebrate the Holidays). It will be a pleasure to share the stage with these agencies and their clients at the awards ceremony in March. We also look forward to celebrating with our Worldcom Public Relations Group partners who are finalists in other categories, such as Padilla Speer Beardsley and Marina Maher Communications.
 
To learn more about the PRWeek Awards, and the list of 2011 finalists, click here. And if you haven’t made plans
to visit the International Civil Rights Center & Museum, we hope you will journey to North Carolina soon to see this
national treasure and visit the RLF office just a few blocks away.

Feb. 1, 2010 Grand Opening of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum shortlisted for 2011 PRWeek Award - Promotional Event of the Year.

The leaves have finally turned in North Carolina. An intensely hot summer that stretched into October generated deep, vibrant colors set against clear blue skies. It’s time to take stock of the waning year and prepare for the road ahead in 2011.

Fortunately, we’ve had time to do some clear-headed thinking over the past few weeks. RLF recently participated in three significant public relations industry events: the WorldCom Public Relations Group’s Americas meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, the Public Relations Society of America conference in Washington, D.C., and the Council of Public Relations Firms’ forum in New York City. In all, we heard from more than 30 leading business, advertising and public relations leaders and engaged in conversations with corporate and agency professionals from across the United States, Canada and Latin America.    

As all of us begin to plan, prepare and budget for 2011, here are six key observations we pulled from the events.  These and other thoughts will guide RLF in 2011 as we amplify our efforts to live up to our mission to be devoted to ideas, strategy and service that advance our clients’ business objectives.  

1.  The Strong Are Surging
The buzz among top agency executives is restrained optimism. The restraint is easy to understand. Unemployment remains high, credit is tight and confidence among consumers remains elusive. But optimism is finally muscling aside the gloomy predictions of recent years.  Across almost every business sector, corporate clients are gearing up for an aggressive 2011. Companies who made it through the great recession are ready to reap the rewards of aggressive cost-cutting and conservative business practices over the past three years. Companies intend to spend on programs and campaigns that will generate revenue and increase market share. As one speaker noted, the companies (and agencies who serve them) that can tap into helping consumers recover from the recession and regain control over their lives in small measures will see great success in 2011.   

2. “My Friend Recommends…” 
A great deal of discussion focused on social media and word-of-mouth’s continued rapid rise and influence on consumer behavior. One startling statistic shared – 78 percent of consumers “trust” a peer recommendation, but only 14 percent “trust” what a company says directly about a product or service…” 

The good news is that the fundamentals of marketing, branding and public relations have not changed. Reaching “key influencers” has always been a critical component of our work, but it is now taking on different forms.  As one action step, companies should assess if the relationship between marketing, public relations and customer service teams is working. These teams need to be constantly talking and sharing information about what consumers are saying, thinking and doing. Leading companies are establishing rapid response teams to monitor what is being said online about their products and services and addressing problems before they spiral out of control. As a senior vice president from American Express said, the logistics and time commitment are “enormously challenging” to do this kind of work, but the payoff appears to be worth it.      

3. Ideas, Trust & Courage
Corporate marketers were steadfast in their belief that “great ideas” are more important than ever in building brands, and they are open to those ideas no matter which agency they come from. “The best idea will win” was repeated, in one form or another, at every forum we attended this fall. And the ideas need to not only be good, they must also be “big.” We heard little support for embracing ideas that would generate only incremental improvement. Two ingredients — trust and courage — will be required significantly by marketers and agencies in 2011 to transform great ideas into workable, measurable campaigns. 

A Mexican beer company's popular campaign, "The Most Interesting Man In The World," was a tremendous leap of faith by the brewers.

The chief marketing officer for Heineken USA talked about the genesis of a very popular campaign for Dos Equis beer. “The Most Interesting Man in The World” campaign has generated tremendous sales based on the strength of integrating paid advertising, online marketing, social and earned media. Coming up with the approach and concept was a challenge, but the larger task was convincing the brewers funding the campaign that it was “okay” for the main character to say, “I don’t always drink beer…” For people who make beer for a living, supporting a creative campaign that discounts beer drinking takes a tremendous leap of faith. However, including that phrase makes the campaign “authentic” and one audiences have been willing to embrace, watch on YouTube, “like” on Facebook (at last count, the fictional spokesperson for a small Mexican beer had nearly 800,000 fans) and buy in the store.       

 4. The Value of “Value”
Winning consumers with “the lowest price” is not going to be as effective a strategy as it has been for the past few years. For example, one speaker noted the average shopper now spends 30 minutes more in the grocery store – comparing, sorting and judging – to better assess “value.” And increasingly, consumers are willing to spend money on items at all price points, but expectations have been reset.    

Figuring out what “value” means to consumers in your business, and then creating ways to deliver that “value,” should be a top priority for companies who want to increase market share in 2011.     

5. “Going Viral” Requires Creative Content…And Money
Consumers are drowning in content. The media and information channel explosion created a world of “constant communication” that must be filtered for value. For example, there are 24 hours of video uploaded on YouTube every 60 seconds. It’s not just that quantity exceeds quality; it also exceeds our ability to process it.    

Reaching consumers requires both sides of the media equation – paid media (advertising, marketing, sponsorships, product placements, etc.) and earned media (media relations, social media, industry leadership, contests, etc). They support, influence, and feed off each other’s strengths.    

For a corporate campaign to spread via word-of-mouth and social networks, creative content has become more important, not less important. And good content must be buttressed by paid media (in whatever tactical form that needs to take) to have a fighting chance of success.     

6. Give Your Team Direction and Boundaries, Then See What They Can Achieve
One of the most fascinating speakers out of all the fall events was Vinton Cerf, vice president and chief evangelist for Google. Cerf, one of the earlier pioneers of the Internet and the person we can most likely praise (or blame) for the creation of email, spoke eloquently about the Internet’s meteoric rise. Cerf and his colleague Robert Kahn created the “rules of the road” for the Internet, the basic architecture for how people should program in this new frontier. “We didn’t tell people what kind of car to make or drive, just what side of the road to stay on,” said Cerf. “And by focusing on creating a solid infrastructure, we’ve seen an explosion in applications and programs.”    

Looking ahead, Cerf foresees the same explosion taking place in mobile devices, and that view was shared in every forum. How we use mobile devices is still in its infancy, but companies who can provide consumers convenient and value-added applications will gain market share. Companies should challenge their marketing and public relations teams to envision how they can tap into mobile marketing and generate market share ahead of competitors. And then fund the big, game changing ideas.

Everyone gets in a rut now and then.  Mine usually come towards the end of a long season – like this past winter.  A season which, for those of us in the south, was quite brutal.  Getting away from routines always perks things up, and in the Triad in spring, the biggest getaway from the normal is the High Point International Home Furnishings Show.

Despite not being able to book a restaurant, hotel or rental car for a 10-day stretch, I love living next to the furniture capital of the world.  It’s where the world’s finest in design convene for a three-city, six-day trade show.  Trade show is a bit of a misnomer, for it conjures up images of 10-foot by 10-foot booths, swathed in scrim and decorated with vinyl signs.  High Point’s “trade show” spaces range from 10-feet-square to 10,000 square feet.   Showrooms are brimming with not only the latest product but also the most updated way to merchandise it.  For example, these scrimshaw brushes from Peninsula Collection, are used as a curtain to create spatial separation or vertical art.

High Point hosts the international giants and the intrepid young artists.  Ben Caldwell, a young entrepreneur from South Carolina, made his debut this market with some eye-raising yet sustainable and chat-worthy designs.  This chair is made from 350 retired decks of Las Vegas playing cards.  And yes, you can sit in it.  I tried.

The most exciting addition to High Point’s round up hasn’t been an exhibitor, it’s been an exhibit.  For the past two shows, attendees have been entertained, bumfuzzled and bewildered by the Amazed exhibit.  Last year the exhibit interpreted a “Trip to Ahhs” for the 70^th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz, through a series of artists’ vignettes. My personal favorite was Glenda the Good Witch, made entirely of bubble gum, and her antithesis, the Wicked Witch of the West, fashioned from Tootsie Rolls.  There were national monuments made from crayons and world icons on toast.

This spring, the theme was the “Ten Senses of Good Vibration”.  Artists took inspiration from classic songs and develop a sort of visual performance art to express their ideas.  Most striking, albeit morbid, was one artist’s take on the first music video ever shown on MTV.  Ironically, ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ was chosen to make MTV history.  As the vignette below shows, the artist mimicked the literal death of the radio star (tucked inside the casket, wrapped in miles of VCR tape).

Using edible materials seemed to be in some artists minds again this year.  But this time, no candy.  Serious food stuffs — in the form of pasta, herbs, beans and spices depicted leaders of social change.

Some portraits made a literal translation from materials to man.   Like Che Guevara, for instance, whose visage was formed from spicy peppercorns.

On the other hand, I have no idea why JFK was made from lasagna and rotini. But contemplating the reasons a historied president was developed from complex carbohydrates did cause me to think about creating things other than dinner. The imagination of these artists and the innovation they bring to the Market reminds me that while furniture manufacturing has moved offshore (and had significant consequences on the economy in North Carolina), the inspiration for what will shape our lives is still vibrant and alive.

On the other hand, I have no idea why JFK was made from lasagna and rotini. But contemplating the reasons a historied president was developed from complex carbohydrates did cause me to think about creating things other than dinner. The imagination of these artists and the innovation they bring to the Market reminds me that while furniture manufacturing has moved offshore (and had significant consequences on the economy in North Carolina), the inspiration for what will shape our lives is still vibrant and alive.

CREDIT: Photo by richelleantipolo via Flickr (CC)

Part of my fitness routine these days is swimming with a Master’s team three mornings a week. At the beginning of the year, I made a simple sounding resolution — stick with the workout from start to finish. But it’s really not that simple.

Swimming, like many things in life, is more mental than physical. Once you are in relatively decent shape, it’s not that hard to swim 3,000 – 3,500 yards each workout. But mentally it is very hard to push through each set and not quit before the last lap. I have a bad habit of not finishing the final 20 laps and slipping out of the pool early.

After nearly four decades of competitive swimming and training, I call it The Grind. A quality workout is important, but there is no substitute for quantity. The Grind is about putting in the time and effort when it would be easy to slack off.

What applies to swimming is equally true for work. We are already seeing that 2010 is the year of The Grind. It requires long hours from virtually every level of an organization to get things done. The economy is improving, but it has not negated the need for perservance and hard work. In fact I believe in this environment those qualities are equally as important as being smart, creative and strategic in our business.

In January, I watched several members of the RLF team grind it out as they prepared for the opening of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. You know your staff is working hard when the security guard tells you that people are working too late.

The opening was a big success, and looking back, we cannot point to what particularly late night or extra effort made the difference. The work and commitment built upon itself, day after day, minute task after minute task. It would have been easy to leave things undone in the belief that small details were not important. But in the end, we know that they are. So we stick it out. We grind it out. And our clients and agency are better off for it.

I recently attended a rousing discussion at the Critical Issues Forum hosted by the Council of Public Relations Firms in New York City. The Council is the leading industry association for just over 100 of the country’s top public relations agencies (and RLF is proud to be a member) and they convened some 200 agency and corporate communications professionals on the roles and responsibilities of our industry in getting the country back on track. I jotted down a number of comments that struck me as particularly insightful, misguided or just plain intriguing. I’m not the best note-taker so don’t quote me verbatim, but here are some insights shared by some top public relations professionals who participated in panel discussions, and my brief reactions.

• One of the panelists quoted management guru Peter Drucker that “underneath the world’s problems are a raft of entrepreneurial opportunities.” A great perspective for all of us as we plan ahead for the next 3-5 years.

• Another panelist commented that “let’s not confuse the fact that people may understand something, but really not care.” So true. If we think about levels of engagement in what we strive for – it is awareness, understanding, caring, acting.

• One panel member strongly urged taking your communications staff to see Michael Moore’s movie Capitalism. Regardless of how people feel about the politics of it, it is a stark reminder of the gap that exists between corporate America and citizens. Might be something worth doing one afternoon.
• The panel moderator commented that in an age of so many competing media streams, do we really know what “truth” is? Can PR professionals really make a claim on this front? Truth is influenced by context, and our job is to help give people more context.

• The head of marketing for General Electric was great. She said their research is pointing to a new reality that people want “experiences not stuff.”  Our client Byron Carlock from CNL Lifestyle Properties has been talking about this emerging trend for years and it is right on the mark

• David Gergen, former White House advisor, warned corporate America that they are not out of the woods in being held accountable to the public. With more than 10 percent of Americans out of work, a fact that will not change anytime soon, the mood is still fragile and that has implications for communications. He relayed the story about President Obama summoning nine CEO financial services executives to the Oval Office and telling them that he was the only thing that stood between them and the “mob with pitchforks.” Gergen’s point was that while the pitchforks have been put away, the mob didn’t toss them in the river. They are “in the closet, and it will not take too many missteps by corporate leaders for the mob to pull them back out if trust is not restored.”

• On exactly that point of restoring trust, the head of communications for Morgan Stanley was completely out of touch. Perhaps it was just me, but his comments that “the financial crisis was caused because of irrational behavior” and that bank executives “deserve all of their bonuses despite the public bailout” came across as bitter. On the issue of bonuses, he lambasted another panel member who suggested that banks make contributions to help people in need rather than dole out all of the bonus money to executives. His response was something like “that is a cuckoo way of thinking. It’s like Bono thinking he can solve problems in Africa by just dumping money on the continent.” Does Morgan Stanley really think they have the moral high ground over Bono leading charity efforts in Africa?

• Margie Kraus, CEO of APCO Worldwide, had one of the best comments of the day for leaders (and PR people). She said that we can all acknowledge that trust in institutions (corporate and political) are at all time lows, and for good reasons. She urged folks to not think this was going to change on its own accord. “If you want to earn back trust with the audiences that matter to you, then stand up and earn it. Find ways to reestablish the social compact.”

RLF president, Monty Hagler was quoted in the June issue of PRSA Tactics. In the article, Hagler comments on the use of ethics in today’s PR industry. See the article below to read more.

The following Ask the Professor column appears in the June issue of PR Tactics, the monthly newspaper published by the Public Relations Society of America (www.prsa.org). Reprinted with permission.

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If your client is unethical,  are you?

People are questioning the ethics of companies like never before, it seems.  What are the dangers of PR agencies getting tarred with the same brush being used on their clients?  And is PR’s role changing with regard to the ethics of their clients?

Ethical behavior is a constant, not a luxury that fluctuates with the ups and downs of the market, says Tracy Kreikemeier, chief marketing officer of PlattForm, a full-service agency in Kansas City.  “What is changing and is more pronounced during these times is the speed with which people focus on ethics and jump to accusations.”

For example, AIG, the insurance giant surviving on federal bailout money, recently hired additional PR help.  While no agency was singled out for criticism, the profession took a hit, as if seeking PR counsel in an ethical crisis was somehow an ethical lapse itself.  The criticism from some reputable bloggers and TV news talk show hosts was another indication of the media not understanding – or not wanting to understand – PR’s role, which includes advising clients on behavioral conduct that leads to improved relationships with stakeholder groups.

“When things get tough, people start to point fingers and are quick to believe the worst,” Kreikemeier adds.  “Ethics should always be a part of our counseling, especially in this environment because of the ease with which unfounded accusations can be made.”

Overwhelmingly, society is well served when organizations in trouble seek reputable PR counsel, according to Monty Hagler, president of RLF Communications, Greensboro, N.C.  “The majority of companies that are in today’s headlines are simply trying to tell a very complex story at a very complex time,” he says. “They need our advice, they need our help.”

Harvard social scientist Dr. Howard Gardner, author of  “Five Minds for the Future,” believes that every business leader needs three types of counselors to “speak truth to their power” and help ensure ethical behavior – an independent board of directors, a trusted adviser inside the organization and an outside counselor. Practitioners have the ideal skill sets for those last two roles.

“There are incidents every day that don’t make news, where PR counselors advise against certain actions.  I’m sure ethics play a role in that advice,” says Phil Young, principal of the Omaha, Neb.-based Philip M.  Young Company. “The key is being close enough to your clients that you are called before the action.  Practitioners may not be ringmasters, but we shouldn’t be trailing the parade, cleaning up after the elephants.”

Shortly after he and two partners founded Stratacomm, a Washington, D.C., strategic communications firm, Jeff Conley faced an ethical crisis.  “We advised our biggest client against doing something we believed was unethical.  They disagreed and said they were going to proceed.  So we walked away, losing our biggest account, but we recovered and we never regretted our decision.

“You and your clients go through things – good and bad – together.  You’re in it for the long haul.  A company can fudge with ethics and achieve a short-term gain, but it’ll catch up to them,” Conley says.  “If you’re the agency, eventually you will get tarred with that brush, because you’re really in cahoots with your client.  You can’t advise clients on matters of ethics unless yours are above reproach.”

Practitioners use the front-page test with clients – “Would you want to see this on the front page tomorrow?”

If not, don’t do it.  Harvard’s Gardner suggests a broader question – “If all workers in my profession adopted my mind-set, or did what I do, what would the world be like?”  If that seems too ethereal, he suggests “What would my mother say?”

John Guiniven, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA, is an associate professor of corporate communication at James Madison University. Guiniven spent 25 years as a corporate PR executive, including time at International Paper and Chrysler, before going into teaching.  E-mail: jguiniven@gmail.com.